Great Western Railway (GWR) today launched Beyond the Journey, a four-part behind-the-scenes video series that takes viewers inside the split-second calls, high-pressure moments and unseen graft that keep one of Britain’s busiest railways moving, told entirely through the eyes of the colleagues who make it happen.
Produced in partnership with production company So-Motive, the series follows GWR and Network Rail colleagues through some of their highest-pressure days on the job: rerouting services live from the Control room, keeping rails safe as temperatures soar, managing tens of thousands of football fans through a major stadium, and the final 24 hours as colleagues race to open a brand-new station.
Rather than a conventional corporate video, Beyond the Journey is deliberately colleague-led: frontline staff’s own perspective, in their own words, rather than a scripted tour of the network. The aim is to give the public an honest, human sense of what it takes to run a railway and the people behind it.
The four episodes
Episode 1: 24 hours to opening day. GWR’s Head of Third Party Delivery, Ian Mundy, and colleagues from Network Rail and Devon County Council go behind the scenes in the final 24 hours before the opening of the new Okehampton Interchange station.
Episode 3: Beating the heat. As rail temperatures climb high enough to force speed restrictions, Network Rail Track Maintenance Engineer, Michael Payne, explains the work that goes into keeping trains running safely through extreme heat and what a changing climate means for the railway’s infrastructure in the years ahead. Coming soon.
Episode 4: Inside the Control room. GWR Duty Service Delivery Manager, Amy Sansum, and colleagues at the joint GWR and Network Rail Control Room respond to live incidents across the network in real time, making the split-second decisions that keep customers moving when things go wrong. Coming soon.
All four episodes will be available to watch on YouTube and across GWR’s social media channels, with the first available right now [Link]; and subsequent episodes released weekly.
GWR Head of External Communications, Dan Panes, said:
“We want people to see what a normal day actually looks like for us, the myriad of bits that join together and go right without anyone really noticing, and the moments where colleagues across the network, both at GWR, Network Rail and all our partners, must think on their feet.
“The railway is about the people that make it work, but more than that, it is the sum of those moving parts, the vast majority unseen and unrecognised, that keeps millions of people moving every day.
“Every one of those people matters beyond the journey, helping to connect people to jobs, to family, and to the local shops and businesses that shape the economies we serve.”
Head of communications for Network Rail’s Great Western Route, Toby Elliott, said:
“There’s an enormous amount of work that goes into running a safe and reliable railway, and much of that work is unseen by the wider public. From maintaining and monitoring the network in extreme weather to responding to incidents in the Control room and helping to deliver major events, the railway relies on people in a huge variety of diverse roles working together as one team.
“This series is a great opportunity to introduce audiences to some of those people who take viewers behind the scenes and provide a rare glimpse into what it takes to keep trains running. We hope Beyond the Journey gives people a fascinating insight into the expertise, commitment and dedication that make every journey possible.”
So-Motive filmed and produced the series and director, Ian Yarwood, said:
“Working with GWR and Network Rail on this project has been fantastic from start to finish. Having the opportunity to meet so many frontline workers across a variety of roles has been incredibly eye-opening and has given us, as a team, a completely different perspective on train travel and the people who make it all possible.
“As members of the public, we often experience the railway through quite a narrow lens, so being given the opportunity to look behind the scenes, understand how everything works and meet the people whose roles can so easily go unnoticed has been a real privilege.
“That is exactly what we hope to do at So-Motive: shine a light on the people, stories and roles that might otherwise go unseen, and give them the recognition and appreciation they deserve.”
